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At Home Cooking Doesn’t Have to be Complicated

So, you’ve made the move to the city. You’ve settled into your new place, you’ve found a job, you’ve made a few friends, maybe even gone on a few dates. You’re a regular trail hiking, wine drinking, farmers market shopping, weekend tripping, online dating, puppy adopting, Los Angelino. What next? Well you have to eat, right? Between work and all of the aforementioned activities, you have no time to make elaborate meals and you certainly don’t want to waste your hard earned money (or your waistline) eating out on the regular. Here’s a cheap, easy, well balanced and most importantly, tasty meal you can dish up in just under 30 minutes.

I’m a newlywed and my husband and I both work long hours so when we get home, we’re starving and we’re tired. The last thing we want is to do is complicate our lives more in the kitchen. As a food lover and planner (I literally plan events for a living), I take my meals seriously. They have to taste great, be fairly healthy, fit into our budget and preferably, be on the table within 30 minutes. It takes a little effort but if you plan accordingly, you’ll have wonderful meals that are fast, easy and inexpensive to make.

Turkey and Spinach Pasta is a staple at our house. It’s a complete meal that tastes fabulous, takes almost no time to make and leaves us feeling satisfied. We like to save money wherever possible, so we buy what we can in bulk. Ground turkey at Costco, for example, costs about $13 for 4-lbs. We break the packages down into 1/2-lb portions, put them in zip-locks and into the freezer. We get 8 meals worth of turkey for a mere $13! I keep a few bags of spinach in the freezer at all times; it’s such a great addition to so many meals and a wonderful source of iron and calcium. This recipe is incredibly versatile. You can substitute whole cream for a richer sauce, use peas and pancetta in lieu of turkey and spinach, or even throw in a spoonful of ricotta or crumbled feta. Be creative! It tastes great hot or cold and works well as a main or side dish. Enjoy!

Turkey and Spinach Pasta

Total Cook time: 30 minutes

Makes: 2 1/2 dinner servings

Ingredients:

3 cups frozen spinach

1/2-pound turkey

10oz. Package of fresh Tortellini

(farfalle and penne also work well)

1/4-cup onion finely diced

1/2-cup half/half (fat free works fine)

1/2-teaspoon nutmeg

1-tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions

Cook pasta according to directions. Heat olive oil over medium heat, add diced onions and cook for about 7 minutes or until slightly browned, stirring occasionally. Add the turkey, breaking it apart with the back of a wooden spoon. When the turkey is just cooked through stir in the nutmeg and half/half, make sure the turkey gets evenly coated. Add the spinach and cook until it’s warmed. Toss with your pasta and add salt and pepper to taste. If you’d like, toss in a 1/4-cup (maybe even a 1/2 cup) of Parmesan cheese. Now you’re ready to eat! – Paola Parsons

Check out Paola’s companies: love+cupcakes and onefourthree Events.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 9th, 2010 at 10:15 pm and is filed under Life in the City. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.